1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for use as golf target practice greens. Such artificial greens are often used at golf driving ranges or special event competitions. In particular, the present invention relates to a golf practice green which can attain more than one configuration. One configuration will be for use as a target green and another configuration is better suited for highway transportation or to facilitate storage.
2. State of the Art
Golf practice greens are commonly used on golf course driving ranges to aid golfers in improving their accuracy in hitting golf balls to a desired target, such as the golf hole or pin. Artificial practice greens are often preferable over a natural green (a green and hole placed in the grass itself as is found on golf courses) because their position on the driving range can be changed very easily, they require much less maintenance such as mowing and watering, and they can be designed to incorporate additional functional features that would be difficult or impossible to incorporate into a natural practice green.
Several artificial golf practice greens have been heretofore developed incorporating means for relaying information to the golfer about his particular stroke, such as how far the golf ball traveled, whether the golf ball struck the target green, and if so, the particular location on the target green where the ball landed. Examples of such devices have been disclosed by Heffley, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,023 (issued Aug. 30, 1977), and Foley, U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,677 (issued Nov. 17, 1992).
In addition, in order to allow golfers to practice shots of varying distance, mobile artificial golf practice greens have been developed to accommodate the transportation of the green to different locations along the range. Mueller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,547 (issued May 13, 1980), discloses a movable golf green apparatus mounted on a frame with wheels and a motor that travels a track that runs along the driving range. A similar device is also disclosed by Uehara, U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,215 (issued Aug. 10, 1993).
Artificial golf practice greens have also been developed with sloped or contoured surfaces to allow the golf balls to roll off after landing thereon so that subsequent golfers do not have to worry about their ball striking a ball previously hit onto the green and deflecting their shot. Such greens are disclosed by Williams, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,161 (issued Jun. 15, 1993), and Meikle, U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,320 (issued Dec. 3, 1996).
Cox, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,392 (issued Nov. 9, 1999) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,662 (issued Jun. 4, 2002) has also disclosed self propelled artificial practice greens incorporating many of the advantageous features of previously disclosed golf green apparatus, but also having means for collecting golf balls lying on the driving range that have previously been hit by golfers, thereby eliminating the need for driving range operators to use a separate vehicle or employee to retrieve balls from the range. The disclosure of each of these patents is hereby incorporated herein by reference.